The Soul of a Patriot

One of the liveliest novels to come out of Russia in recent years, The Soul of a Patriot is, on the surface, a series of amusing letters written at the death of Leonid Brezhnev. The fictional Evgeny Popov’s account of his family history becomes a rambunctious portrayal of the lives of ordinary Russians from the revolution to Brezhnev’s death. As Popov pokes fun at every aspect of Russian culture and tradition, layer upon layer of satire turn convention inside out. Freely parodying conformist Russian writing, this novel takes its lead as much from Sterne and Diderot as from the brilliant Russian satirist Mikhail Zosh chenko. In the offhand witticisms and jaunty humor speaks the spirit that sur vived the era of stagnation of Soviet literature.